The Epistle of Jude From the Beginning

An Introduction to Jude

Good afternoon and welcome to the Panhandle. I pray this finds you in the middle of this COVID-19 stuff. I think we are on week three or maybe week four of our social distancing. To be honest with you sometimes it's hard to remember.

Today was a strange day for me, I preached to just my family. After several weeks of prayer and wrestling with it I asked our folks not to meet at the church building. It was not an easy decision to make, but President Trump and Governor Stitt asked us not to meet in groups of 10 or more and we were. As I was praying about this I watched a friend post of 1 Peter 2:13-16 ~ 13 Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, 14 or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. 15 For it is God's will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. So with my daughter running sound, my son operating the camera for streaming and the laptop for video, and my wife manning the light switch and the amen corner we had service. I can't wait until May when prayerfully we will be able to come together again.

Okay, as I said we are starting a study in the Epistle of Jude. Sunday after next I will finish up preaching from that book, God willing and the creek don't rise. Before preaching this series I never really sat down and looked closely at Jude. For such a short book Jude packs a lot in there. Before we get into the introduction of this book I need to give credit to the four main sources I used in preparing these sermon/studies – The Holy Bible, Preaching Through The Book of Jude by Keith Taylor, the Holman New Testament Commentary – David Walls and Max Anders, the Preacher's Commentary – Paul Cedar and Lloyd Ogilvie.

Do now let's dive into the Epistle of Jude with a bit of history about the author, the recipients, the occasion, and the plan of exposition.

Christian author Paul A. Cedar writes, I received a letter from a friend whom I had not seen for many years. To my surprise and delight, I heard from him at a very unexpected moment.

In his opening paragraph, he stated simply that he was writing to me because I had been much in his mind and upon his heart during the preceding days. For some reason, the Lord had directed his conscious mind to me. His letter was in response to the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

The purpose of his writing was to affirm and encourage me in the ministry and to express his deep love for me. He assured me of his prayers, and he solicited my prayers for him and his family. I was greatly blessed by his letter. What a joy it is to love our brothers and sisters in Christ, to encourage and build them up in the faith, and to warn them against potential dangers. The Scripture refers to this wonderful ministry as edification.

This is the focus of the letter of Jude. Jude wrote to encourage and affirm those whom he loved in the truth. Within the context of edification, he also warned them very specifically against false teachers whose instruction would lead them astray. His warnings seem to supplement those shared in 2 Peter 2.

Like Peter, Jude begins with words of love and affirmation which are followed by a strong warning concerning those who would cause divisions and who are sensual, not having the Spirit (v. 19). His warning is followed by a marvelous treatise on how to be a builder of spiritual lives. Then Jude concludes with a moving benedictory statement declaring the sufficiency, wisdom, glory, and power of Jesus Christ.

As you know, when ever I start a series on a book of the Bible I like to start with a look at the who, what, where, and when of the book. I do this because I believe it is important to see the context in which the book was written, so I will do the same with the Book of Jude this morning.

1. The Author

“Jude, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James,” is the introduction which the author shares with his readers (vs. 1).

Both Mark and Matthew tell us in their Gospels that Jesus Christ had brothers by the names of Judas (Jude) and James (Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:15). Since Jude is not mentioned within the Acts of the Apostles or in any of the other books of the New Testament, it is probably safe to say he was not a leader in the early church. Like James, Jude may have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ only after His death, burial, and resurrection. Therefore, it was quite natural to identify himself with one who was a leader in the church—his brother James. 

 

Jude, or Judas, was named for one of his ancestors, Judah - the patriarch-son of Jacob. While the most eminent though not the first-born of Jacob's sons, it is out of the line of Judah the Messiah had to come. His was a name of worth, eminence, and honor; and yet... He had the same name as another who was not looked upon favorably. I am of course speaking of Judas Iscariot (one of the original twelve) who betrayed his and our Lord, Jesus Christ for 40 pieces of silver. 

But, this Judas was quite another man. He was an apostle, like Judas Iscariot; but he was a sincere disciple and follower of Jesus Christ, Iscariot was not. He was a faithful servant of Jesus Christ, the other was his betrayer. So we must be careful to distinguish them from each other. This is possibly why our author went by the name Jude after his conversion.

Jude or Judas called himself a servant of Jesus Christ, regarding it as a honorable title. It is more honorable to be a sincere and useful servant of Jesus Christ than to be wealthy or prosperous or a person of power by earthly standards. 

Jude could have claimed his relation to Jesus Christ as His half brother, but he did not, and instead he glories in being Jesus Christ's servant. We would all do well to follow Jude's example. Are you content to be called a servant of Christ Jesus?

It was a greater honor for Jude to be a faithful servant of Jesus Christ than to be kin to Him according to the flesh. All of Jesus Christ's immediate relatives, as well as all of his earthly ancestors, died. Why? Because they were all sinners and the wages for sin is death (Romans 6:23).

But there was and is hope, Just as man is destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:26-28).

Jesus Christ Himself tells us that he that hears his word and does it is is his brother, and sister, and mother. (Matthew 12:48-50). 

Jude was a servant of Jesus Christ. Even though he was Jesus Christ's half-brother, he was His servant. And even though he died, his relationship as a servant of Jesus Christ is what kept him out of the fires of hell, not his relationship as a half-brother. I consider it a great honor to be counted as a servant of Jesus Christ, do you? 

 

There was only one James who was recognized as a leader in the early church. It was the same James who wrote the Epistle of James and who was the brother of Jesus Christ. Much more importance, however, is James' personal identification as a servant of Jesus Christ. Like his brother James, Jude had also become a follower and a willing servant of Jesus Christ. His priorities were correct. Nothing in all of our lives and relationships can be more important than following Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and then willingly serving Him. 

 

To recap the “who,” it appears that the author is indeed Jude (Judas), the brother of James and the half brother of Jesus Christ. And, even more importance, Jude is a servant of Jesus Christ. Will you follow Jude's example and become a servant of Jesus Christ?

2. The Recipients

It was written sometime between a.d. 67 and 70. “To those who are called, sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ” (v. 1). These words of greeting give us little specific information concerning the recipients except that they were Christian brothers and sisters. We also know that the were beset by false teachers who were immoral, covetous, proud and divisive. 

Because Jude's letter does not seem to immediately be directed to any particular person, family, or church, some commentators believe that it was written to the Christian community as a whole. Also it is believed that Jude's letter was written to those who had just recently coming to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. We do not know whether they came to faith in Jesus Christ from Judaism or paganism. What we do know is this, the letter will be, of standing, lasting, and special use in and to the church as long as there are Christians to read it or hear it. 

In the third verse, Jude addressed his readers with a since of intimacy, “Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” 

 

Although Jude wrote his letter over two thousand years ago, it could have been written today. Just as in Jude's time, Christ Jesus loves you and me and all humanity - The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9).

Will you turn away from your sinful life right now and place your faith in Jesus Christ. Will you op for eternal life with God or will you op for a life eternally separated from Him?

3. The Occasion

Most of the New Testament was written as “occasional theology.” In other words, all of the epistles were written for very specific occasions. The authors were writing with love and concern to instruct those who were in need of instruction, to encourage those who were discouraged, or to correct those who were going astray. In that sense, the occasion of Jude’s letter was both encouragement and exhortation. He had planned to write a letter concerning their mutual salvation, but instead he wrote, “I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints.” (vs. 3).

Jude's letter was written to defend the apostolic faith against false teachings that were arising in the churches. Alarming advances were being made by an early form of Gnosticism. In the spread of this form of Gnosticism they were cultivating their “spiritual” lives that allowed them in the flesh to do anything they liked. The result of this? They were guilty of all kinds of sexual sins and lawlessness. Sounds a lot like today, doesn't it?

Jude's letter was designed to warn against seducers and their seduction, and to inspire with a warm love. It is also written with a solid concern for truth in conjunction with holiness, of which unbiased brotherly-love, is a most essential character. Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” (John 14:6), "By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35). Do you know the truth, the love, and the life found only in Jesus Christ?

Jude's letter was also meant to be a letter of exhortation to the believers of the early church. What was it Jude was exhorting his readers? “to contend earnestly for the faith.” (vs. 3). The Greek word used for “should earnestly contend for” translates as “to struggle for,” or literally “compete for a prize.” Figuratively it means to “contend with an adversary.” Are you living your life with an eye on the prize (Jesus Christ) while you contend with the old adversary himself (Satan)? 

 

4. Plan of Exposition

Because Jude is a very short letter and because much of the content is difficult for those in our culture to understand easily, this letter is often neglected. I think that there are relatively few Christians who have given serious study to this book or who have much knowledge of its teachings. 

 

Also some people have trouble with Jude because he quotes two pseudepigraphal books. What is a pseudepigraphal book? It is a (falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed author is not the true author, or a work whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past.). The two books quoted by Jude are the Book of 1 Enoch and the Assumption of Moses.

While Jude quotes these two books it does not mean that Jude considered these books to be necessarily inspired. Instead their historical content add to the message that Jude is conveying. 

 

I trust that this study will bring the Book of Jude alive to all of you who hear this series of sermons. If this happens, you will find this letter to be of great assistance to you in your personal life as you battle against the nominal expression of Christianity that is so prevalent in our society. And, by God’s grace, you may be helped to become builders of the spiritual lives of your brothers and sisters and of the kingdom of God rather than a destroyer. “So let it be, Lord!”

Thanks for dropping by and may the Lord richly bless you this week.

Bro. OH